Compressor Pedals for Jazz Guitar?

**NSJ** · 01-27-2011, 10:09 AM

I have a Boss compressor sustainer pedal it's collecting dust with my Hendrix Wah. Not interested in that stuff anymore.

**EinarG** · 01-27-2011, 10:52 AM

I use a subtle compressor while recording. The barber tone press if I use it in front of the amp, or some sort of rack unit or softsynth.
It's setting is set fairly subtle, as I dont like the sound of the pick, or the kind of tele country-picking tone. But to get fat highs without bommy lows, a compressor can be a great addition to your EQ.

**jorgemg1984** · 11-05-2011, 05:32 PM

Hi!

I am looking for a compressor and I think an optical one would be a good choice. My main goals are 1) making notes more even - softening hard notes and giving strength to soft notes 2) give me a little more sustain 3) hide the pick attack a little 4) my original sound as unaltered as possible.

Any suggestions? The Carl Martin Opto Comp seems like a good and cheap choice - and has an attack button which seems great. A guy here can build me a Demeter but it doesn't have an attack control... The FloorQ seems great but its a little expensive for a compressor.

Thanks in advanced!

Compressor Pedals for Jazz Guitar?-carl-martin-classic-opto-compressor-jpg

Compressor Pedals for Jazz Guitar?-carl-martin-classic-opto-compressor-jpg

**seanlowe** · 11-05-2011, 05:56 PM

obligatory "you dont need one."

Anyway, constructively, have a look at electro-harmonix ones, p sure they have a nice warm tube model or two.

Compressor Pedals for Jazz Guitar?-electro-harmonix-stereo-compressor-jpg

Compressor Pedals for Jazz Guitar?-electro-harmonix-stereo-compressor-jpg

**jorgemg1984** · 11-05-2011, 09:31 PM

Haven't checked EHX yet - my father is actually a friend of the owner, I might get a good price. Will check them tomorrow.

**bluemood** · 11-05-2011, 10:51 PM

Check out Barber Tone press

**merritt stone** · 11-05-2011, 11:33 PM

Originally Posted by jorgemg1984

Hi!

I am looking for a compressor and I think an optical one would be a good choice. My main goals are 1) making notes more even - softening hard notes and giving strength to soft notes 2) give me a little more sustain 3) hide the pick attack a little 4) my original sound as unaltered as possible.

1. Play hard notes softer and soft notes with more strength.

2. Work on technique, vibrato, utilize volume controls.

3. Experiment with different picks, and using your fingers.

4.

**jorgemg1984** · 11-06-2011, 07:39 AM

Originally Posted by merritt stone

1. Play hard notes softer and soft notes with more strength.

2. Work on technique, vibrato, utilize volume controls.

3. Experiment with different picks, and using your fingers.

4.

Have done almost all that and will keep doing. On picks I have tried allmost all of them and settled on the Pro Plec. So this is not up to discussion... I WANT A COMPRESSOR!

The Tone Press seems good and the clean blend control is also appealing but it has very few controls... :/

Any more suggestions?

**JensL** · 11-06-2011, 08:10 AM

How much do you already know about compressors?

If you want to take away pick attack you'll probably need to use the attack control (and set the time to low so that it cuts in and limits the volume of the attack right away)

For preserving you sound you have to look at the ratio. To me anything above 1.5:1 is impossible to play with so I don't use compressors, and many pedals have higher ratios because they are intended for country or funk rhythm guitar.

Hope this gives you some info you did not already have

Jens

**jorgemg1984** · 11-06-2011, 09:00 AM

Hi Jens!

Thanks so much for your reply - great post! You did gave me some info I didnt had - specially the ratio part. I had already decided I wanted a compressor with an attack control - your post just confirmed my idea.

Theres a guy selling a Compulator Pro here for a nice price - sent him in an e-mail, lets see... My tech and a local pedal builder both recommend the Compulator a lot for what I pretend and the Pro version adds "Attack" and "Release" knobs so it seems perfect... But I am still open to other suggestions!

Oh and the compulator ratio starts on 2:1 so its above what you said... makes me wonder! Do you know any optical compressor pedal with low ratio and attack control?

Thanks!

Compressor Pedals for Jazz Guitar?-compulator-pro-jpg

Compressor Pedals for Jazz Guitar?-compulator-pro-jpg

**JensL** · 11-06-2011, 09:23 AM

I am no expert on the subject I am afraid

I have no idea what an optical compressor is, and my experience with compressors are only from modelled stuff in line6 and fractal units. I have until now only concluded that I don't need it for jazz. The problem is how it feels to play more than how it actually sounds.

My experience is that if you have the ratio 2:1 the impact on the playing dynamics is too much. Have you ever played through an old line 6 pod where you hit harder and harder and nothing happens? That sort of feeling of dynamic limitation. I hate that, but it's personal.

Your amp is a compressor too, what kind of amp do you use? You might get somewhere with a drive pedal with the level high and the drive down in front of the amp.

I would guess that you might have a conflict with the pick attack vs. the sustain. Sustain would be there by having a long release time, but if you have a long release then it might not catch/limit the next pick attack in a line. I am not sure about this by the way..

Jens

**richpiv** · 11-06-2011, 09:29 AM

Check out this website, especially the FAQ page -

Compressor Reviews

Just don't ask me, I've never used one.

**Tom Karol** · 11-06-2011, 10:17 AM

I'm not a big fan of compressors except when paired with delay for faux pedal-steel licks in a country context. However, as far as Carl Martin is concerned, my Quattro has a great 2-knob (compression and level only) compressor but I just use it as a clean boost (compression on zero) for solos.

**fep** · 11-06-2011, 10:33 AM

Originally Posted by JensL

Your amp is a compressor too, what kind of amp do you use? You might get somewhere with a drive pedal with the level high and the drive down in front of the amp.

I don't use a compressor for any of the reasons Jorgemg1984 stated. I use a compressor to make solid state sound more like a tube amp.

Tube amps compress your sound when you start to dial in a little bit of overdrive.

**NSJ** · 11-06-2011, 10:39 AM

Originally Posted by fep

I don't use a compressor for any of the reasons Jorgemg1984 stated. I use a compressor to make solid state sound more like a tube amp.

Tube amps compress your sound when you start to dial in a little bit of overdrive.

You can also use a pre-amp for that purpose. I use a Duncan Twin Tone (which apparently has tubes) with my solid state Henriksen, and it gives a tad of that "tube" presence.

**JensL** · 11-06-2011, 10:59 AM

I think that any well designed guitar amp should compress the signal a bit. That is what we are used to, and it is a part of the design not only in tube amps. In tube amps you often have to play loud for the compression to be really great and jazz volumes are for cissys...

I am quite happy with how both my polytone and my AER compress the signal. As an example I do not like how a roland jazz chorus feels for that very same reason.

Edit:
This is by the way a very clear description of how it works: http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/setup.shtml
Thanks for the link Rich!

Jens

**jorgemg1984** · 11-06-2011, 11:50 AM

My jazzmaster ultralight already has a little tube compression vibe - I really want the compression for the reasons I have mentioned.

Thanks for the link - already knew it. An excellent website and it just confirmed what I already knew: the web is the best place to know about gear, specializaed magazines dont stand a chance. But that guy on the site is a bass player... I wanted opinions from guitar players - particularly from guys that play jazz and like subtle compression.

This one seems like a great option on the expensive side. The ratio starts on 1:1 unlike many other expensive options like Empress, Compulator, Opti-Flec...

The Joemeek floorQ

**cosmic gumbo** · 11-06-2011, 05:17 PM

I've used the MXR Dynacomp for over 30 years whenever I've needed to use compression. It does a lot of things very well and very simply. I've found lots of interesting uses for it through the years that were very handy. The single biggest case against compressors, is once the output of the compressor is set, it renders the volume control on your guitar useless, and pick attack has no effect on changing your volume, so you have very much limited the dynamics of your guitar, but sometimes that is just what you need....

**JensL** · 11-06-2011, 05:19 PM

Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo

The single biggest case against compressors, is once the output of the compressor is set, it renders the volume control on your guitar useless, and pick attack has no effect on changing your volume, so you have a very much limited the dynamics of your guitar, but sometimes that is just what you need....

If you can't set the threshold and the ratio that is

Jens

**jorgemg1984** · 11-06-2011, 05:43 PM

Anyone has experience with the Tone Press? It seems like the compressor that doesn't get in the way of your sound!

**JensL** · 11-07-2011, 03:18 AM

Keep us posted what you end up with and how it works out for you.

Jens

**jorgemg1984** · 11-07-2011, 07:18 AM

Dont you worry - I will! I have some other pending threads but I always finish the threads I start asking about advice for gear (I did it on the reverb tank thread only I think).

It might take a few months until I have the pedal but when I have it you will all hear my report! The tone press is taking the lead... lots of great reviews not only Harmony Central or TGP (which are not the most accurate) but also from guys whose opinion is important to me. It seems like a simple pedal that lets your original tone pass trough... (actually my first choice would be the floorq but its really really big - it doesn't fit in my pedalboard - and its also expensive).

Still waiting for more opinions!

**JensL** · 11-07-2011, 07:30 AM

Great! Your question made me mess around with it too. Fits well since we are mixing our latest cd, and I might actually end up knowing what I want in terms of compression on the guitar track in that process.

I actually found the link to the settings page quite clear and not only for bass players but more general info about compressors. I am not a big fan of how pedals always have different names for things it is very unclear and if you look at the stuff sound engineers work with that is never the case (and maybe there's a reason for that....)

If I come up with something I like I'll post some settings that work for me. Did you try to mess with a recording of your guitar on the computer with Audacity or something similar, maybe it'll give you some ideas?

Jens

**jorgemg1984** · 11-07-2011, 07:39 AM

No, actually no... It might be a good idea! But my main point is to have it always on the pedalboard and help me have a balanced sound - which is may main goal! All the upgrades I have been doing in effects and amps had a great impact in my sound and I am really really happy... I happened to end up with a free slot in the pedalboard and since I had all my other covers needed (tuner, eq, dist, od, dekay, reverb, lehle mixer) I thought a little compression would help me balance the sound even more. Sort of the "cherry on top of the cake"...

(my hear is very sensitive to details which is bad sometimes!)

**JensL** · 11-07-2011, 08:37 AM

I know you want it on the pedal board. My suggestion was just to give you an idea without buying a pedal. Probably the hardest part about compressors is setting them right.
Even if the hardest part to get used to is the change in how you sound changes to the dynamics you play with. Maybe it's a bit strange but I like to have the guitar compressed when they are on a record, but I hate loosing the dynamic range when I play.

Jens